Home/Olympics

Fencing at the Tokyo Olympics 2020 unfolded from the Makuhari Messe. Both men and women contested in the hunt for gold, and the men’s sabre event concluded today. Some unlikely winners emerged, so let’s dig into how this unique sport captured the attention of sports fans.

How did the men’s sabre event unfold at the Tokyo Olympics 2020?

via Reuters

The men’s sabre event kicked off with four round of 64 matches. These matches featured US’ Andrew Mackiewicz overcoming the host nation’s Tomohiro Shimamura and Kaito Streets beating Algerian fencer Akram Bounabi. Kaito, the Japanese fencer, did not go too far as he fell to US’ Eli Dershwitz in the round of 32.

ADVERTISEMENT

Article continues below this ad

In another event, the United States fell tremendously short of sniffing the medals. Mackiewicz could not go past the round of 32, falling to Korea’s Sanguk Oh. Daryl Homer, the Rio silver medalist, also fell in the same round as his patriot to Egypt’s Mohamed Amer. Former world #1 Eli Dershwitz went the furthest from the US squad, losing to Korea’s Junghwan Kim. The Korean fell in the semifinals to Italy’s Luigi Samele.

Luigi had a wonderful run to the final, beating out the Korean, Iran’s Mohammad Rahbari and China’s Yingming Xu. However, his toughest battle came against his compatriot, Enrico Berr?. Enrico was on a rampant run toward the final, but Luigi Samele had to put him down, booking his date with Junghwan Kim.

Who took home the medals in the men’s sabre event?

With the semifinal spots confirmed, the men’s sabre event kicked it up a notch with three stellar medal matches. We witnessed a shocking runner-up and a bronze medalist who would’ve made the gold medalist shiver in his cape. Korea’s Junghwan Kim beat Sandro Bazadze to take home bronze.

ADVERTISEMENT

Article continues below this ad

In typical fashion, Hungary’s Aron Szilagyi eased his way to the final. The three-time Olympic gold medalist humbled Georgia’s Sandro Bazadze 15-11 in a crunching match. Sandro put a good fight, but to no one’s surprise Aron made it to the final. At the final, he faced an exceptional opponent, but would make short work of him too.

ADVERTISEMENT

Article continues below this ad

On his way to a third consecutive gold at the Olympics, the Hungarian beat Italy’s Luigi Samele. The Italian was always on the back foot against the legend, but Szilagyi slayed his Italian foe to claim gold once again. That closed out a thoroughly entertaining day of fencing and another wonderful Olympics from Aron Szilagyi.

Read more: Tokyo Olympics 2020 Fencing Results: China and Romania Emerge Unlikely Winners in Women?s Epee Championships